Bieber, CA

Bieber, Califronia is a rather out of the way railroad location that is now only a shadow of it’s former self. In November of 1931 Western Pacific and Great Northern rails met at Bieber, completing the "Inside Gateway". While the town of Bieber is a few miles to the east, and the location that the rails met at is technically called Nubieber, the railroads called their junction point Bieber. Even though Bieber is a rather out of the way location it was quite well equipped. It sported a depot, a crew dormitory, oil, sand, and water facilities, a four-stall engine house, a small stock yard, and a small icing facility. Here trains were handed off between the WP and the GN, and power serviced while crews got their required rest.

 

The coming of diesel locomotives, and later the less friendly connection when the WP was merged into the UP lessened the importance of Bieber. Today little of the old infrastructure remains. A pump house, and one of two large water tanks still stand. The location of the former engine house is now used by Sierra Pacific industries as a reload for lumber trucked from their mill in Burney. Several other industries receive rail service on the tail end of the old wye track. These include inbound fertilizer and outbound perlite. Trains now just pass through “town” with the exception of the South Local out of Klamath Falls which switches the local industries several times per week.

 

Here a two car northbound BNSF engineering special passes though Bieber at track speed with a straight shot all the way to Klamath Falls ahead.

Done